The food in Oaxaca City is such an incredible experience onto itself, that we had to write two blog posts about it. See here for the best foods to try in Oaxaca City, where we describe some of the unique dishes which originate from Oaxaca. In this article, we talk about the best restaurants and street food joints that we visited during our month in Oaxaca to actually eat this special cuisine.
If you’re passing through Oaxaca, we highly recommend staying at Suites de la Parra. The The location is right next to the Mercado and in the heart of the city. The price including a really nice breakfast served on the roof came to less than £70 per night (after a really strong Quidco Cashback deal). There’s a rooftop pool and loungers for guests to enjoy, so you can have a chill in the sun after all of the food you’ll undoubtedly consume.
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Best street food stalls in Oaxaca
Tlayudas la Chinita is one of the best places for Tlayudas in Oaxaca. This street food stall brings in a crowd and has a conveyor belt style setup to make sure everyone is tended to. One person scoops black bean puree with pork fat from giant pots onto enormous masa tortilla. The next person dumps a pile of shredded cheese.
Then a fresh piece of beef comes off the grill and goes in. The whole thing is placed back on the grill. As it’s so busy everything off the grill and comal is super fresh. Actually, a lack of grill space was what held up their service but it’s worth the wait.
While Tlayudas la Chinita is definitely an evening place, Memelas San Augustin is a daytime place where locals stop for breakfast and lunch.
Snack sized memelas topped with freshly pulled cheese and black beans are served to locals and tourists alike who sit around the cart on little stools. This was one of our favourite street food experiences, not just for the food itself but for the friendly and hospitable vibe.
Speaking of an incredible experience coming out of a street food stall, Chefinita is a stall right outside Mercado Benito Juarez. The staff serve slow cooked pork in rolled up tacos on actual plates. They even have a seating section next to the stall itself. The hot sauce is other worldly. Once again a night time rather than day time venue.
Tacos del Carmen was another one of our favourite street food vendors in Oaxaca City. Get here early – like, breakfast early – if you want to have your pick of the taco fillings.
They do sell out quickly. We tried a couple of different tacos over a couple of different visits, all of which were delicious. What I really like about Tacos de Carmen was that rather than serving the tacos soft, as is customary, the tacos are pre-rolled (for speed of service I would guess) and put on the comal for a hot, crispy shell.
The food in all of these street food vendors is as amazing as it is inexpensive. I can’t imagine a better meal to buy for those short on cash than street food in Oaxaca City!
Best restaurants in Oaxaca
Bridging between a street food vendor and actual restaurant is Las Animas. This outdoor grill has a beautiful courtyard in the very heart of Oaxaca City for its customers to eat in. It’s not quite a full restaurant as it doesn’t have a bar or bathroom, and it’s not indoors. It is a unique experience and everything that came off the grill was delicious.
Terraza Istmo was our local for the whole of our trip, and we considered ourselves lucky for that. This was one of our favourite places to grab a quick rooftop beer in the sunshine before properly heading out for the day. We also ate here three times, so had the opportunity to try a good chunk of their menu. They had a wide range of traditional Oaxacan dishes, and you can knock off a lot of the must try foods here. The one dish which we ordered twice was the garnachas. These little open faced delights were a bit naughty with all of the oil, but so delicious. One of our favourite restaurants on our whole trip to Oaxaca City.
Just outside the main centre of Oaxaca City in Reforma is Itanoni. We came here for a very early breakfast on our way out to Hierve de la Agua one morning.
They are famous for making their masa base with seven different types of heritage corn grown by independent farmers. Even at 7:30 on a Sunday morning their comal was filled with different tortillas and masa bases. This was also the only spot in town where we got to try tetelas. Ever so slightly out of the way but worth a visit!
Tierra del Sol is a beautiful restaurant found both in centre of Oaxaca, and recommended in the Michelin Guide.
The cooking is truly Oaxacan and this is the best place in town to try mole. We ate on the beautiful upstairs terrace. Downstairs you will find their La Atolería, where you can try some traditional Oaxacan drinks.
Last but certainly not least, Levadura de Olla is not only one of the best restaurants in Oaxaca, but one of the best restaurants I have been to full stop. It’s upmarket and premium without being pretentious, and one of only two Michelin starred restaurants in Oaxaca. The menu was totally inventive and unique, while staying true to its Oaxacan heritage.
The tomato salad was one of the most interesting yet simple dishes at the same time. The cocktails were some of the best that we had on the trip, and the presentation of everything was stunning. The service was friendly and knowledgeable, and they took the time with us to explain the entirety of the menu.
With an experience like this I would have thought the price tag would have been a lot higher than it was. We were shocked that our beautiful meal plus a cocktail and a beer each was less than £50. As you might guess, be sure to make a booking.
It’s hard to go wrong with food in Oaxaca City. The care over ingredients, process, and tradition coupled with the uniqueness sets it apart as a true culinary destination.